A Lesser Evil
by The Box of Mystery
Summary: In 2007, a team of historians and marine archaeologists discover a strange shipwreck. Thrilled by this remarkable find, the team is eager to set off on their adventure. For Elaine Thompson, it has already begun.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Port Royal

"God, I hate my hair!"

Elaine Thompson yanked another strand of mouse-brown hair out of her face, only to have three more whip themselves right into her eyes.

_I should've known this would happen. My hair plus this awful tropical humidity equals the ultimate frizz._

Although she wasn't enthusiastic about how the Jamaican heat and the damp ocean air affected her hair's disposition, she was definitely excited to be here in Port Royal. During the seventeenthcentury, Port Royal was well-known throughout the Caribbean for its success in commerce. However, it was soon dominated by garish exhibitions of wealth and horrid immorality, giving Port Royal the reputation as being the "Wickedest City". In spite of its rich and interesting history, the individuals responsible for the city's ill repute fascinated Elaine the most:

Pirates.

From a very young age, Elaine held romanticized notions of the lives and ways of pirates like Calico Jack, Anne Bonny and Mary Read, and the ferocious Blackbeard. She learned later on they were not at all like the glamorous swashbuckling heroes she read about, but this didn't stop her from pursuing her passion. In fact, this new knowledge only made her thirst for more. In every history class throughout high school and even into her college years, she wrote about pirates or anything pirate-related whenever she had the chance. Her teachers never understood why she was so interested in the bloody history of these horrifying and violent people, but she let them wonder. As long as she had her pirates, she was content.

She graduated from college with a major in history and was eager to move on with her life. But like almost every college student, she walked across the stage to receive her diploma wondering what in the world she would do with her new life. The answer came swiftly. One of the guests attending graduation was Gloria Solomon, an historian who worked at a museum in Port Royal. Gloria had only come to watch a friend graduate, but then she overheard one of the history professors talking about a thesis discussing Anne Bonny and Mary Read. She was quick to ask him who wrote it, and found out that Elaine was the author. After ten minutes of searching amongst the enormous crowd, she found Elaine and introduced herself. Elaine was delighted to know there was someone else in the world who shared her obsession with pirates, and they became instant friends.

Gloria explained that she was part of a group of historians and marine archaeologists who hoped to attract tourists to Port Royal by utilizing its historical appeal. Most people held a certain intrigue for the pirates who once called Port Royal their stronghold, and they wanted to take advantage of this popular interest. She asked Elaine if she wanted to be a part of the team. The question was barely out of her mouth before Elaine started hopping in a circle around her wearing a huge grin on her face, her blue eyes wide with excitement.

"I'll take that as a yes!" Gloria laughed.

Two weeks later, Elaine left her home in North Carolina early in the morning with two suitcases and boarded a plane heading south for Jamaica. She had never traveled this far away from home before, so Gloria decided to accompany her to help her feel at ease. A few hours later, the plane landed at the Kingston airport, where Gloria's team waited for the two women to arrive. After a brief introduction, the team's members promised they would see her soon and left. Elaine's luggage was loaded into the back of Gloria's Jeep, and they were soon on their way to Port Royal.

Elaine guessed she must have fallen asleep sometime during the drive, because she hardly remembered anything at all from when they left the airport to when they arrived at the Galleon Inn. She was a little saddened by this, as her work in Port Royal would leave her no free time to explore the rest of Jamaica, but the fact that she was here at all more than made up for it.

Gloria turned onto Lime Street and drove all the way to the end of the sandy dirt road, passing by old rundown houses in desperate need of repair. The roofs were riddled with holes, most of them didn't have running water, and some of the houses looked as if they would collapse at any second. The locals didn't seem to mind, though. They were curious about the newcomers and smiled and waved at them as they drove past, wondering what brought them to their town, long forgotten by time. Elaine admired the townspeople; in spite of their daily hardships, they were always willing to smile and welcome passing strangers to their town. The two women had a similar welcome at their final destination.

The Galleon Inn was a simple two-story whitewashed wooden building with quaint black-shuttered windows. The inn had endured the onslaughts of many hurricanes over the years and acquired many battle scars, as evidenced by the long dark scratches and peeling white paint. The inn's sign, depicting the faded image of a large sailing ship gliding across a sparkling ocean into an orange sunset, hung over the porch as it lightly swayed back and forth in the tropical breeze. Gloria helped Elaine grab her bags out of the Jeep, pulled open the wooden screen door, and carried them inside. Elaine was surprised by the almost total lack of furniture in the inn's parlor. She later found out it was usually too hot to stay inside during the day. The only way to beat the heat around here was to sit outside in the open air. The two women made their way across the hardwood floor, which echoed their every step, and climbed up the two flights of creaky wooden stairs. As they wandered down the blank white hallway, Gloria was quick to point out that there was only one bathroom on this floor, meaning Elaine would have to share it with the other team members. Elaine wasn't too pleased about this, as she was accustomed to having her own bathroom, but she figured she would soon adjust to the new situation. Gloria then handed Elaine her key and led her to the room that would be her new home for the next two months. She waved goodbye and left her to unpack, promising to check on her later. Elaine, exhausted by the long trip, opted to take a nap instead and passed out on the bed.

Three days had passed since she her arrival, and she honestly felt she was adjusting to her new surroundings fairly well. Her room was a bit small, but not uncomfortably so. A twin bed lay right beside the window overlooking the ocean, just as Elaine had always wanted.

What she wanted right now, however, was to bring her wild hair under control.

She grabbed her hair into a tight fist and growled at her frustrated reflection in the little mirror on her dresser. After spending half an hour fighting with it, she had made no progress whatsoever.

"Alright then, you asked for it!"

In ten seconds, she quickly twisted her hair into a tight bun at the back of her head and tied it down with a dark blue hair elastic. She stood still, waiting to see if her new strategy worked. A few moments later, she breathed a sigh of relief; no hair had escaped the confines of her bun.

"Hey, Elaine. Having fun?"

She whipped around to find Gloria standing in the doorway smirking at her in amusement.

"Hardly, but I've finally conquered my hair!"

Gloria nodded and chuckled. "That's good. Doc's getting worried; we were supposed to leave for dinner at five-fifteen and it's nearly that now."

Elaine glanced at her watch. "Holy crap, it is!" She started plowing through one of her suitcases looking for her purse. "Tell him I'll be down there in a second!"

Gloria walked into the room and sat down on the bed, watching her friend toss underwear and t-shirts right and left. "Don't worry, take your time. You've got about five minutes." She turned to look out the window. "Wow, I didn't realize you had such a great view of the Sunken City from here!"

In 1692, a deadly earthquake struck Port Royal and created three tidal waves, which eroded the sand to the point where over half the city lay on the ocean floor. It was thereafter called "the Sunken City", and many people at the time thought its destruction was the work of God due to its citizens' sinful ways.

Elaine glanced up from her suitcase. "Oh, you like it now? Just wait until nightfall. When the moonlight hits the water just right, the buildings give off a faint white glow. You can even see into them sometimes, if you look hard enough."

Gloria shook her head. "Incredible. Oh, that reminds me!" she said as she turned back to her friend. "Doc says we think we may have found a new shipwreck. He's going to give us all the details tonight at dinner."

"Really? Fantastic! Ah, here it is!" Elaine yanked out a small dark red leather from the depths of her suitcase. "I was wondering where the little booger was hiding!" She then looked behind her and saw the large pile of shirts, underwear, and shoes waiting to be cleaned up. After staring at the monstrous mess she made, she groaned and let her forehead hit the floor.

Gloria laughed. "Okay then, kiddo, let's go."

Elaine pushed herself up and followed Gloria out into the hall, making sure her door was locked before going down the stairs. She cast one last glance to the window at the end of the hallway and frowned at what she saw outside.

A large patch of thick grayish-black clouds hung like a dark curtain over the horizon. The sea in turn grew murky, and the waves slapped against the shoreline as the winds picked up, churning the sand on the sea-bed and concealing the sunken buildings from view.

Gloria called out her name, but she didn't respond. Instead, she stood at the top of the stairs watching the clouds grow darker and more ominous with each passing moment. A sense of dread passed over her; all thunderstorms were dangerous, but she believed this one in particular would be even more threatening than usual.

"ELAINE!"

Her friend's shrill cry snapped Elaine out of her wandering thoughts. She walked downstairs to the parlor where she found Gloria waiting for her, scowling and tapping her foot impatiently. The stairs let out a loud groan with every step, but the sound fell deaf on her ears. Her thoughts were focused more on the oncoming storm than anything else.

She suddenly stopped on the bottom step and shook her head; why was she acting like such a child? _It's only a storm, and this probably happens everyday here in the tropics. I need to get a __hold of myself and get used to it!_

As she left the Galleon Inn with Gloria, who was scolding her for almost making them late, she took one last look at the storm clouds, now a frightening pitch-black. She felt nervous as she watched them grow in strength and size, but she tried to think positively about it. At least the town would receive some much-needed rain.

But this storm would bring more than rain to Port Royal.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi, it's The Box of Mystery! Before I introduce my next chapter, there are a few people I need to thank (and give hugs):

bubblymuggle4: Thanks for giving me my first review, and thanks for subscribing to me! hugs

Ocean Siren: Thank you for subscribing to me! hugs

Nyghtshade: Thanks for listing A Lesser Evil as one of your Favorite Stories! hugs

Please feel free to review this story at any time, and constructive criticism is always appreciated.

Now, without further ado, I bring you . . . Chapter Two! (yes, I just realized it rhymes :b )

* * *

Chapter Two: Unwanted Attention and The New Shipwreck

"Ed, will you please stop playing with my bun?!"

"But it's so cute! It looks like a doorknob!"

Elaine rolled her eyes and sighed. Prior to Ed's arrival, her evening at The Landlubber's Wharf had been an enjoyable experience. She was reunited with the rest of the team, and they sat down to a delicious seafood dinner surrounded by friendly diners and decorative faux fish. As the newbie in the group, the other team members kept asking her all sorts of questions about herself. Gloria tried to answer some of their inquiries so Elaine could eat, but in the end, her efforts were futile. Elaine didn't mind, though; all that mattered was how much she enjoyed their company and vice versa. She used to be shy and reserved around large crowds, but her new friends were determined to coax her out of her shell, and Elaine admired them for their efforts.

Well, almost all of them.

About halfway through the meal, Edward Harrison, a paramedic and amateur historian, strode in through the front door of the restaurant and threw himself into the empty chair next to Elaine. Upon first glance, she didn't mind his decision to sit beside her. His jet black hair and dazzling green eyes, not to mention his bronze tan and glistening biceps, gave her an excellent reason to gape at him.

Then he just had to open his mouth and say, "Hey, baby, you like what you see?"

From that moment on, she despised his company. Unfortunately, he seemed to like how he caught her looking him over. He knew he was handsome, and his overwhelming confidence in this undeniable truth assured him that, with just one glance, he could have any woman in sight.

Or so he thought.

Elaine's disapproving frown, followed by a warning glare from Gloria eating beside her, served as a response to his first question. A long uncomfortable silence followed.

A few minutes later, something lightly bumped against the back of Elaine's head. She put down her fork and smacked Ed's arm, but by this time he had already stopped, making her defense unnecessary. He gave Elaine a questioning look, as if asking her whatever possessed her to harm an innocent stranger. She ignored his feigned injury and continued eating her fried shrimp. A couple of moments passed with no disturbance, but the peace didn't last long.

Elaine finished eating and had just begun to take a sip of her iced water when, without warning, Ed bumped her bun again. Caught off her guard, she jumped and accidentally snorted some water up her nose, sending her into a huge coughing fit. To make matters worse, the glass tipped over and spilled its contents all over her white blouse and denim skirt. She clenched her fist and breathed deeply. It was just water; there was no need to lose her temper. Repeating this phrase like a mantra, she grabbed her napkin and dabbed at her soaked clothes, cursing Ed in silence to a terrible and hopefully painful fate.

Which he fully deserved, considering his next action.

Ed leaned towards her and, in what he thought was a romantic effort to help Elaine clean herself off, picked up his napkin and started wiping it up and down her inner thigh.

The mounting anger Elaine had so far managed to keep at bay finally exploded from its prison like an erupting volcano. Her cheeks darkened into a cranberry-red as she spun around in her chair and faced the perpetrator with a furious gleam in her eyes. Ed had never seen a woman react so violently to his advances, and his eyes only grew wider with fear.

What happened next stunned everyone: She grabbed him by the collar of his neon yellow t-shirt, pulled him close to her, and let loose a punch landing right between the eyes. His head snapped back as he yelled out in pain, but her grip on his shirt prevented him from falling back onto the floor. Only when she was sure he could sit up on his own did she let go of him. She looked around and, seeing all the people gaping at her and the man clutching his nose groaning, muttered an apology to everyone sitting around the team's table. Then, she calmly took a sip of what was left of her water and acted like the incident never occurred. As far as she was concerned, Ed deserved that punch to the face, and she hoped she had humbled him to some extent.

Meanwhile, Ed finally summoned enough courage to check and see if his nose was bleeding or broken. Much to his relief, his nose suffered from neither ailment. He folded his napkin back onto the table and stared at the composed Elaine in shocked disbelief. He couldn't believe it. He had just been beaten up by a woman, something he previously thought would never happen to him, the most gorgeous man in Port Royal.

He held no regrets whatsoever. All he was trying to do was clean her up; what was so offensive about that? Why should he feel guilty for attempting to help her?

This now brings us to the present moment as Ed, who refused to apologize for bothering Elaine, revealed his stubborn nature. Just as Elaine drank the last drop of her water, Ed gave her bun a solid whack with his palm.

She slammed her glass down on the table and clenched her fist. "Ed, will you please stop playing with my bun?!"

Ed smiled at her, revealing his perfect white teeth. "But it's so cute! It looks like a doorknob!"

A loud cough coming from Dr. "Doc" Robert Matthews, sitting at the very end of the long table, disrupted the second round of their bun brawl. The rest of the team looked on in silence.

"I'm afraid the evening's entertainment must end now, and I must say that I am very disappointed that two members of our esteemed excavation team feel they have to use force before words to settle disputes." Doc spoke slowly in a calm deep voice, carefully choosing his words. "I expected you two to behave like professionals, not like drunk high school kids after homecoming."

Elaine could only stare at her plate and blush in embarrassment. Doc was right, of course. She had been too full of anger to even think about the possible consequences of her actions. Ed, however, just sat there and stammered at him, trying to come up with an excuse that mainly placed the blame on Elaine.

"There is no need for an explanation, Mr. Harrison; I saw the whole thing." Doc leaned towards them. "If you inflict pain on anyone again, Miss Thompson, you're going right back to North Carolina. Is that understood?"

Elaine nodded. "Yes, sir. I don't know why I did it; I've never done that before. It just . . . I don't know."

"Just keep that thought in mind before you punch again." Doc then turned his gaze upon Ed. "And Mr. Harrison, I know I shouldn't have to tell you this but . . ." He suddenly started singing lyrics from the musical Chicago. "'You had it coming, you had it coming, you only have yourself to blame!'"

The entire team burst out laughing during Doc's impromptu performance; even Ed joined in the hilarity for a moment. Five minutes passed before the laughter finally died down.

"Alright, okay, enough silliness for tonight," Doc said while he wiped tears out of his eyes. "Let's go ahead and get down to business."

Doc's announcement signaled Tory, the team's navigator, to pick up his blue tote bag and rummage through it in search of a particular file. The team watched as he brushed a strand of dark hair out of his brown eyes as he quietly looked through the papers. He smiled when he finally found the one Doc needed and handed it to him.

Doc muttered his thanks and looked up again. "Now, take one photo from the file and pass it around."

The file slowly made its way around the table until everyone had a photo.

"Last week, Tory and Margaret and I sailed out into the Caribbean to test our new marine excavation equipment. These tools are unique; they not only help us locate potential archaeological sites, but they also record what they see with an underwater camera."

He stood up and paced around the table behind each team member. Doc's baggy dark blue shirt placed an unfortunate emphasis on his short stature, but his deep voice indicated he was a proud man in his prime.

"We sailed," he continued, "until we were about fifty miles northeast of Port Royal. We were satisfied with the new equipment, so we started heading back. Just as we had turned the ship around, an image suddenly appeared on the screen that caught Margaret's attention."

Margaret Meyers, seated two seats down from Elaine, pushed her wire-rimmed glasses onto the bridge of her small nose and smiled. The blond twenty-nine-year-old was obviously pleased with herself for her efforts.

"This photo," Doc said as he held one up for an example, "is the first footage ever taken of this site. Ladies and gentlemen, we have found an unknown and undocumented shipwreck."

Absolute silence.

Elaine couldn't believe it. What were the odds of finding a new shipwreck in this day and age? She looked around the table to see how the others had reacted to the news. Everyone began chattering in excitement and hunched over their photos as they examined what they thought was the find of the century. Gloria, however, took one look at her photo and quickly flipped it face down on the table. Elaine thought she detected a flicker of concern in her dark brown eyes, but it soon disappeared.

Elaine sat back in her chair and studied the photo. The ship lay on its starboard side, revealing its hull belly while a cloud of sand hovered over it. What first caught her attention was the condition of the ship itself. Instead of lying in multiple pieces on the ocean floor, as was typical with other shipwrecks, this one remained completely intact with no debris in sight. Another unusual detail she noticed was its strange appearance. The entire ship from bow to stern was a sickly greenish-gray. She assumed that the ocean and its creatures were to blame for the poor condition of the wood. But if that were true, why wasn't the ship falling apart? She could barely make out a silhouette of what appeared to be a set of gigantic wooden jaws armed with teeth of the same material.

Ed was the first to speak. "This is . . . This is just incredible. I can't believe I'm seeing this!"

Elaine agreed. "This really is a remarkable find." She squinted at the photo. "It's too bad that cloud of sand above the ship distorted the image."

Doc raised an eyebrow. "What sand cloud?" He walked over to her and leaned over her shoulder to look at her photo.

"Right there," she said and pointed at the area in question.

He took one look and chuckled. "My dear Miss Thompson," he said as he patted her shoulder, "that's not a sand cloud. Those are the ship's sails."

A chorus of gasps erupted from the entire team. Sure enough, the "sand cloud" was actually just one of the ship's many large sails, perforated with numerous rips and tears.

Everyone silently asked the same question: How could an old shipwreck look like it sank only a month ago?

"Obviously we are dealing with a strangely well-preserved historical artifact, so I expect everyone to act like professionals," Doc glanced at Ed and Elaine, "and use caution when documenting and excavating the ship. We will meet at the port at nine tomorrow morning and board The Milady. We'll be setting sail five minutes later, so please don't be late. I'll see you all bright and early tomorrow!"

This speech signaled the end of the meal, so everyone paid their bills and left The Landlubber's Wharf. Elaine's skin tingled with excitement at the thought of recovering artifacts from this exceptional discovery, but her joy fled when she saw the dark storm clouds hovering over a blackened sea. She was too distracted by the ominous weather to hear someone approach her.

"Hey!"

Elaine jumped and spun around. Margaret stood nearby waving at her.

"Yeah?" Elaine yelled.

"I thought you and I could go for a jog tomorrow morning before we leave. I found a gorgeous trail that goes through the trees and onto the beach. And you said you didn't get to see much of Jamaica on the way here, so I thought I could show you a little bit of it. I usually leave at seven a.m., if you want to come."

_God, I hate running, but if it makes Margaret happy . . ._

Elaine smiled. "Sure! I'll see you at seven!"

Margaret grinned and waved goodbye as she climbed into Tory's truck and rode away. The truck reminded Elaine of Gloria's Jeep, so she turned and headed for the parking lot where she knew Gloria would be waiting. She was surprised to find Ed standing beside the Jeep instead. He glowered at her and folded his arms across his chest.

"I need to talk to you," he growled.

"Sorry, but I don't think Gloria wo-"

"I've already talked to Gloria; she said you could go back to the inn with me."

Elaine was in no mood to deal with Ed's immature sulking fit. "Look, I'm tired, you're angry, there's nasty weather coming in, and it's getting dark. Can't we do this later?"

"No, we're talking now. Come on; we're going for a walk." He grabbed her wrist and set off at a brisk walk towards the beach. Elaine knew he could easily overpower her if she tried to run away; she had no choice but to follow him.

A rumble of thunder announced the end of a momentous evening, and foreshadowed the dangers yet to come.


	3. Chapter 3

Before I present Chapter Three, there are some people I need to thank:

Dutchman Girl: Thank you for your wonderful review! I'm glad you enjoy this story! I'll update soon, I promise!

bubblymuggle4: Thank you once again for another great review! I'm glad you love my story. Hmmm, what ship is it, you ask? You'll just have to wait and see:) Oh, and I live in Sanford. I'll make sure to update soon!

the-american-hockey-girl: Thanks for your review! Like I told bubblymuggle4, you'll just have to wait and see who makes an appearance. :) I'll update soon!

Oh, that reminds me. I'm going back to college on January 8th, and classes start on the 10th. This means that, once school starts, my updates won't be as quick as they've been so far. So, from the 10th and onward, I'm planning on updating once a week (maybe twice if I'm not too busy), and write as much as I can over breaks and weekends. School drags me away from my real life: Writing fanfiction. :)

Again, if you'd like, you can write a review after reading this story. No flames, please!

Finally, after hours of typing and retyping (not to mention hours of staring at the computer screen and banging my head against the wall), I now present . . . Chapter Three!

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Chapter Three: An Argument and A Strange Object

Elaine sighed as she brushed a few writhing strands of hair out of her face. So far, the walk had achieved nothing. The air of tension between the two had become almost unbearable. Ed refused to let go of her wrist for a moment, save for when they took off their sandals so they could walk barefoot in the warm sand. He had neither spoken to or looked at her since they set out on this unplanned excursion. Instead, he stared down at the sand, and they walked side by side in silence.

She glanced up at his face. Although he tried hard to maintain a grave expression, his pursed lips ruined the attempt.

_Yep, he's still pouting._

Elaine wanted nothing more than to head back to the Galleon Inn and take a hot shower, but she decided against it. Ed had dragged her out here just so he could talk to her. She wanted to give him a fair opportunity to speak, and walking away before he addressed his issue would only intensify the anxiety already present. She thought about how much longer she would wait before abandoning the sick pervert.

Five minutes seemed reasonable.

Just then, a bolt of lightning slithered its way across the sky and vanished with a loud crash.

Actually, now was the best time.

"Ed," she asked, staring at the long stretch of beach before them, "are you going to say anything, or are we just going to walk around and waste time?"

He licked his lips and heaved a heavy sigh, indicating his reluctance to say anything. "Okay, fine then. Let's talk."

He let go of her wrist as they stood face to face.

"Elaine," he said as he folded his arms over his chest, "I think you owe me an apology."

Elaine's jaw dropped. "What?!"

"You heard me. You need to apologize to me for punching me in the face earlier. I'm surprised you didn't break my nose!"

She planted her hands firmly on her hips and raised a scornful eyebrow. "No, _you _need to apologize to _me_. Correct me if I'm wrong, Mr. Harrison, but unless my memory has failed me, you tried to touch my . . . Well, let's just say it was a little too close for comfort. As far as I'm concerned, you earned that punch!"

Now it was Ed's turn to retaliate. "I was trying to help you clean up after you spilled water all over yourself!"

"Yeah, because you were stupid enough to play with my hair after Gloria and I warned you not to!"

Ed shook his head. "I hardly consider glaring to be a warning."

"Well, that was stupid of you, now, wasn't it?"

"Look, Elaine, I--"

"And don't think I believe that idiotic excuse about how you wanted to 'clean me up'!" Elaine said, motioning quotation marks with her fingers. "You were flirting with me all night long in the most degrading way, and all I can say is that I am not impressed. I may be a woman, Ed, but I'm not a common slut. If you want one of those, go to any of the bars around here. I'm sure there will be plenty of sluts to go around."

Ed stood in shocked silence throughout Elaine's rapid tirade and long after the speech was over. He opened his mouth several times to say something insulting back at her, but no words came to him, so he ended up looking like a fish gasping for air.

Elaine closed her eyes and sighed. _Never argue with an idiot; it won't accomplish anything_.

Dark waves aided by a blast of wind crashed close behind her as thunder rumbled through the black evening sky. She was startled by how little she could see in the gloom, despite the glow of fluorescent lights radiating from small businesses nearby. Her eyes darted about, and her hands trembled. The fear she fought so long to contain now seeped into every pore.

A flash of lightning striking close by blinded them for a few seconds before vanishing in another huge roar of thunder. This final warning from Mother Nature supported Elaine's quick decision.

She needed to leave. Now.

"Hey, where are you going?!" Ed yelled as she sprinted away. "I'm not finished with you yet!"

She stopped and turned to shout back at him. "I'm going back to the inn! Unlike you, I don't have a death wish!" She pointed at the increasingly malevolent weather to back up her statement, then took off running again.

"Holy crap!" Ed muttered. He was amazed and frightened by how the beautiful tropical summer day had transformed into a dangerously sinister storm.

He was also astonished at Elaine's speed.

"Hey, wait for me!" Ed shouted and ran after her.

Elaine could barely hear him calling for her in the distance. The wind gained strength, howling as it wound its way through the trees and numerous buildings. Residents and business owners feared the incoming storm and shut their windows up tight, leaving her to run blind in the surrounding darkness. She stopped to rest for a minute while her eyes adjusted to the black night around her. This moment left her completely vulnerable, and the sea was quick to take advantage of it.

She never saw it coming.

"Elaine! Look out!"

Ed watched in horror as a four-foot wave rose up and slammed into Elaine's torso, propelling her into a series of underwater spins and somersaults. Seconds passed before it finally deposited her battered body face down in the sand.

He ran towards Elaine screaming her name, but she remained motionless. As a paramedic, he had been taught to control his panic, but he could barely keep it from bursting out of him when she didn't respond. Fearing the worst, he snatched his cell phone out of his back pocket in case he couldn't help her.

Ed's first task was to check for signs of breathing. He put his hand in front of her mouth and waited anxiously. If she wasn't breathing, he would need to perform CPR and send her to a hospital right away.

Finally, after several agonizing seconds, he felt a hot breath waft into his palm.

Elaine was alive.

"Hey, are you okay?"

She scrunched her eyes and groaned as she pushed herself up. "Yeah, I think so. Ugh, I think about a gallon of seawater went straight up my nose." Exhausted by the tumble, Elaine sighed and cupped her face in her hands. She soon realized this was a big mistake. "Great. Now I have sand all over me, don't I?"

Ed nodded and helped her brush as much sand off her clothes as he could. Despite their best efforts, most of it remained firmly glued to her skin.

He stood up and slipped his cell phone into his pocket. "We'll get the rest of it later. Right now, though, we need to get you back to the inn and dry you off. I'll fix you some coffee once we get back."

Elaine stared up at him and smirked, impressed by his new chivalrous behavior. "If you're this nice now, I ought to get hurt more often."

He chuckled and slowly pulled her to her feet, holding onto her hands in case she felt unsteady. Once she stood up, she discovered an entirely new set of pains.

"Oh God, that hurts!" she winced as her thigh began throbbing mercilessly. "I'm definitely going to have bruises tomor---"

Elaine spotted a faint glimmer in the sand about two feet away. Forgetting her pain, she slipped her hands out of Ed's grasp and walked towards it.

"Elaine? What is it?"

She knelt down to have a closer look at what had washed up on the beach beside her. Barnacles coated the majority of the rounded fist-sized object. Only two tarnished points of what appeared to be some sort of metal rod or blade were visible, as most of it remained hidden within the object itself.

Intrigued by this bizarre find, she picked it up and examined it further. Although it didn't look any different close up than when it lay at her feet, she found it surprisingly heavy. She bobbed her hand up and down trying to estimate its possible weight. What in the world could this thing be?

"Whoa, what is that?"

She gasped and looked back. Ed had been behind her all this time, but she had been too engrossed in studying the object to notice him.

"I have no idea." Elaine held it out to him. "You want to crack a guess at it?"

Ed held his hands up and shook his head. "No, I'll let you do that. You're the one who found it; you ought to be the one to make the first guess."

She furrowed her brow in thought. "It might've come from the Sunken City, but I'm not sure."

Ed pulled her to her feet. "Well, let's take it back to the inn. It's getting ready to rain and you're already soaked to the skin."

Elaine nodded and they hurried back to the parking lot at The Landlubber's Wharf. Before climbing into the front seat of his pickup, she asked him to run inside and ask someone for a large jar of salt water.

"Some underwater artifacts can get brittle and break apart if they're exposed to air immediately after excavation. We need to put this thing in salt water to keep it whole until we get to the inn."

Ed succeeded in attaining the required jar of salt water and slipped the object inside it, ensuring that no water spilled out of the container. A few minutes later, the couple were on their way back to the comforts of the Galleon Inn.

Elaine held the jar up from time to time and stared at its contents, checking for any breakage or other signs of transport damage. Finding none, she nestled the jar in her lap and watched the rain trickle down the truck's cracked windshield. She didn't know what the jar contained, and she could hardly wait to find out.

Nothing could have prepared her for what she was about to encounter.


	4. Chapter 4

Hi there; this is The Box of Mystery!

I have more thank-you's to give out! Hurray!

PippinBaggins: Thank you for putting my story on your Favorite Story list, and thanks for your great review! I'm glad you like Elaine so much. I haven't had to punch anyone either (yet). :b

bubblymuggle4: Wow, another great review! Thanks! You'll find out what the object is pretty soon. :) Sanford is in Lee County, which is right smack dab in the middle of N.C.

the-american-hockey-girl: Thanks for the review! You'll find out what it is in a minute. I never thought about Elaine and Ed acting like Han and Leia, but it makes a lot of sense:) Huzzah! Another N.C. girl:)

Rokhal: Thanks for subscribing to my story!

Dutchman Girl: Thanks for your review! I'm glad you love this story; I'll be updating soon!

Forbidden Insomniac: I will update soon, I promise:)

spongedork789: Thank you for your great review and for subscribing to my story! I'm glad you're enjoying it!

I'm trying very hard not to fall into the Mary Sue trap, so if Elaine starts acting like a Mary Sue in any way, please tell me.

As always, if you like what you've read, feel free to write a review. I enjoy reading them!

And now, Chapter Four! Have a Happy New Year!

* * *

Chapter Four: The Object Revealed

The bright red numbers on Ed's digital clock read 10:30 p.m., and still, Elaine didn't come.

_Good grief, how long does it take for a woman to rinse out her hair?!_

While he waited for her to show up, he figured he ought to do something to prepare his room for the object's examination. Ed stood up from where he sat on his twin-sized bed and reached behind the headboard to grab his fold-up card table. He always imagined this table as a stage for his victories in strip poker, not for studying random objects that washed up on the beach.

Oh well; at least he finally found a more practical use for it.

The hinges in the table squeaked loudly as he unfolded it, and he set it down in the middle of the room where there was more space. He sighed and thought about what else he could do, but he drew a blank. His argument with Elaine still weighed heavily on his mind, and every effort to distract himself from the incident proved unsuccessful.

Ed sat back on his bed and stared at the floor, letting his elbows rest on his knees. Looking back on it, he may have been a little too forward in his efforts to flirt with her. He should have known better than to touch a woman who obviously didn't care for it. He certainly should not have missed the warning signs that she was about to go ballistic.

Ed was willing to admit that, yes, he did earn that punch to the face, but he refused to acknowledge her comment about how he preferred to date whorish women. This was completely untrue; he hated those types of girls, and he often avoided them whenever he could. He preferred girls like Elaine, who maintained a certain degree of elegance about them in any setting. This was why he flirted with her in the first place, but it seemed that he went about it the wrong way. Now he doubted if she would view an invitation to date him with a sincere mindset.

Another impossibility was that she would ever come out of the shower.

He glanced at the clock again; it read 10:45 p.m. Raking his fingers through his slick black hair, he wondered if she was taking a shower or trying to drown herself like the wave attempted to do earlier.

Just then, he heard a loud knock at the door. He walked over to it and turned the knob, but he decided to have a little fun before he let her in.

"Who's there?" he asked.

"It's Elaine," a muffled voice replied.

"Elaine who?" Ed said with a grin creeping across his face.

He heard a loud annoyed groan before she yelled, "Oh for the love of God, just open the damn door!"

Ed opened the door and laughed out loud at the unenthused look on Elaine's face. She clearly didn't appreciate the humor in a knock-knock joke; her raised eyebrow and sarcastic smirk proved that quite effectively.

"You know, just for that, I ought to let Doc have a look at this instead of you," she said, and gestured to the jar she cradled in her arms. "But since you helped me recover after that wave hit me, I'll forgive you."

She walked into his room and carefully set the jar on the card table. As she walked around the table, studying the strange object from every angle and making observations about it, Ed took the time to take another good look at her. She now wore a pair of navy blue cotton pajama pants and a white tank top, both of which flattered her slim physique. Her wet hair had been gathered into a small ponytail that swung with every move she made.

"Ed? Ed! Will you please stop that?! We're not here to figure out why I'm wearing these crappy clothes. We're here to find out what _this_ is." Elaine pointed at the object in the jar.

He stood dazed for a moment, suddenly finding himself in yet another embarrassing situation. "Sorry," he muttered. "You're just more attractive than that thing on the table."

"I'm glad you think that, otherwise I'd have to punch you again." She smiled and laughed. "Okay, then, you ready to get started?"

"I think so, yeah."

Elaine twisted the lid off the jar and reached her hand in to pull the object out. Just as she grabbed it, she stopped and looked up at Ed. "Do you have any newspaper or scrap paper? I don't want to get the table too wet and God knows what's on this thing."

"Oh yeah, I've got plenty of newspaper!" He sank to his knees and crawled under the bed. Ed reappeared shortly afterwards with a small stack of newspapers in his hands. Elaine held up the jar as he unfolded them and laid the separate pages out in layers on the card table. When he finished, she set the jar back down on top of the newspapers and took hold of the object again.

"We probably should be using gloves, but we'll have to do without for now." She glanced over at Ed standing next to her. "Ready now?"

"Yep, we are."

She slowly pulled the object out and held it for a few seconds, allowing the excess salt water to drip back into the jar. A sudden blast of thunder rumbling outside startled her, and she felt the slick object begin to slip out of her hand. She decided to abandon the plan to slowly move the artifact and instead set it down quickly on the newspaper.

Ed and Elaine stood back for a moment to look at the object, now fully exposed to the air. They somehow believed it would take on a different appearance out of the water, but the rusty barnacle-encrusted mass retained its original form.

"Well, that was disappointing," Elaine commented. "Now what? Do we wait for it to dry or . . . Ed, what are you doing?"

"We'll need to scrape the barnacles off, and to do that, we need tools," Ed explained as he dove under the bed again. "I know it's here somewhere . . . Ah, here it is!"

He pushed himself out from beneath his bed and dragged a dark green toolbox out with him. "I think these will be very helpful. Let me just take a look in here and see what I've got."

"Don't take too long, Ed." Elaine said. "This thing hasn't even been out for five minutes and the barnacles are already nearly bone dry."

This was true; there was just about no moisture left in the barnacles, and she thought this highly unusual. But what she found truly alarming was that she could actually see how the water on the object's surface was disappearing so rapidly. Instead of evaporating into the surrounding air, it was being sucked into the object itself, leaving the outer layer completely dry.

It was almost as if the object was alive.

"Okay, I've got what we need." Ed turned around carrying a screwdriver, a small hammer, and a yellow flashlight. "Here's the plan; I'll chisel away the barnacles while you hold the flashlight. I need the extra light to see what I'm doing. How does that sound?"

Elaine picked up the flashlight and gave him a nervous smile. "Sounds good to me."

Ed positioned the point of the screwdriver onto one of the larger barnacles and held it steady. Just as he was about to strike it with the hammer, Elaine let out a gasp and backed up into the corner, dropping the flashlight onto the floor with a loud clatter.

He watched the flashlight roll back and forth at his feet, then looked back up at Elaine. "What happened? What's wrong?"

"Nothing happened. It's just . . ." she swallowed thickly. "I'm terrified of that thing!"

Ed could only stare at her. "Elaine, it's an inanimate object. What could it possibly do to you?"

"I-I-I don't know," she stammered, "but . . . I'm terrified of it and I want it out of this room right now!"

Ed couldn't believe what he was hearing. She was afraid of the object, the same object that she had been dying to identify ever since she found it earlier that evening. He thought about laughing it off and dismissing it as childish behavior, but he soon changed his mind the moment he saw the change that had come over Elaine.

Before he brought his tools out, Elaine had been the smiling sarcastic woman he had come to recognize. But now, her complexion had grown completely pale; even her lips were a shade lighter. This, in addition to her darting eyes, shallow breathing and trembling hands, all expressed the terror she felt towards this object.

"Alright, calm down," he said as he set his tools down on the table. "I promise there's nothing for you to be afraid of." He picked up the flashlight, which still worked despite its fall, and walked over to Elaine. Taking her by the hand, he gently pulled her closer to the table.

He held the flashlight above the object so she could see it clearly. "It's just barnacles and rust; that's all it is. And . . . Oh, so that's what it is!"

Elaine kept staring in fear at the object. "You know what it is?"

"Well, I know what part of it is. You see these two points?" He picked up his screwdriver and pointed at the two ends of the rusty metal trapped in the barnacles. "Those used to be part of a knife. This end right here," he gestured at the point furthest away from them, "was the blade, and this square end here in front of us was the handle. Bacteria had to eat away at the handle first before the metal inside it could rust; that's why there's less rust on it. You with me so far?"

Elaine nodded but remained silent.

He set down his screwdriver, picked up the object, and held it out to her. "Here, take it."

She tried to back away from it, but Ed squeezed her hand and pulled her closer to him. "The best way to conquer your fear is to confront it, so take it." Without another word, Ed held open her hand, placed the object into her palm, and closed her fingers over it.

"Now, here's what we're going to do," Ed explained as he rummaged around in his tool box again. "There aren't any barnacles around the blade, so I think we can pull it out." He took out a pair of pliers and held them up for Elaine to see. "I'm going to pull on the handle end of the knife with these pliers while you pull the object towards you. Hold on to the middle of it so the blade doesn't accidentally cut you, okay?"

Elaine eyed the pliers nervously before looking up at Ed. "Are you sure this will work? Maybe Doc would have a better idea of what do."

"It's way past eleven, Elaine," Ed said, "I highly doubt he's even awake right now. And besides, you're the one who found it in the first place. Why do you want to let _him_ steal your discovery from you?"

"Ed, I don't even know if it should be discovered! Let's just forget about the whole thing and throw it back into the ocean." She tried to pull it away from him, but he had already applied the pliers to the knife handle. "Ed, let go!"

"I didn't waste all this time just so you could throw it back out to sea! Now, come on!"

"Ed, stop it!"

They pulled on the object in a strange tug-of-war, neither one willing to give up. They yelled at each other to stop and let go, but these threats were ineffective. After ten minutes of struggling, Elaine and Ed still weren't about to admit defeat and, in a final effort, they each pulled as hard as their strength could allow. Elaine's arm muscles ached to the point where she thought they would simply slide off the bone. But then, the tension in her arms abruptly disappeared.

The object had slipped toward her.

Smiling in triumph, she pulled it closer and closer to her until she finally almo-

BANG BANG BANG!

Startled by the deafening pounding on Ed's door, she screamed and stumbled backwards, unintentionally yanking the object off the blade. She tried to keep a firm grip, but she had pulled on it with so much force that, as she fell, it slipped out of her grasp and flew through the air above her head. Elaine crashed onto her back and watched in horror as the object smashed into the wall, shattering its barnacle shell into thousands of tiny pieces.

Absolute silence filled the room; not even the stranger at the door made a noise.

". . . Elaine?" Ed whispered.

Elaine slowly sat up and started brushing barnacle particles off her pants.

"Elaine, are you alright?"

She didn't respond. Instead, she turned around and looked to see where the object had fallen. "Where is it? Where did it fa--- Oh my God."

"What? Elaine, what is it?"

Again, she made no reply, and she crawled straight towards the object in question.

Ed, meanwhile, was on the verge of having a panic attack. "Elaine, what is it?!"

For a moment, Elaine wasn't sure what it was. She reached over and gingerly picked it up. Upon closer inspection, the new object looked absolutely bizarre.

The barnacles had been concealing some sort of a large red blob with pinkish-white lines streaking across its surface. Three small tubes sprouted from the mass, each one ending in a round gaping hole.

She squeezed it twice. It felt oddly heavy, but it was also slick and spongy.

"I have no clue what thi---"

_Thoom-thump._

Elaine's face turned a ghastly pale; the object pulsed in her hand. Ed walked up to her and tried to get her to speak.

"Elaine, what's wro--" Ed froze.

_Thoom-thump._

_Thoom-thump._

_Thoom-thump._


	5. Chapter 5

Wow. It took FOREVER to type this chapter! Curse you, writer's block! (shakes fist)

Anyway, there are some wonderful people out there who deserve to be thanked:

Dutchman Girl: Thanks for the review, and I'm glad you love this story so far (I know I've said that before, but it's the truth!)! I'll update soon!

spongedork789: Thanks for your review, and good guess, by the way:)

bubblymuggle: Thanks for your review! Yep, that's what it is! I know, it's really gross. :b I didn't think that saying Elaine was slim counted as a step towards Suedom; Ed's the kind of guy who likes slim girls, that's all. Oh well, I'll be careful.

PippinBaggins: Thanks for the review! You made a good guess, and I'm so glad you're excited!

the-american-hockey-girl: Thanks for reviewing my story, and I'll update soon!

EccentrikPirate: Thanks for your review!

Well, like I said before, I managed to overcome my writer's block and finished writing this chapter. I hope you all like it as much as you liked the previous chapters. As always, please feel free to leave a review.

And now, enjoy Chapter Five!

* * *

Chapter Five: Hiding The Heart

"Holy s---, it's a heart!"

Elaine couldn't think of a sarcastic response to Ed's stupidly obvious observation. She was too busy staring at the disembodied organ beating in her hand to think about much of anything at the moment.

"So, what are you going to do with it?" Ed asked.

That was definitely a puzzling question; what does one do with a human heart beating _outside_ the body? The heart's muscle fibers stretched and contracted in her palm like a rubber band with every pulse.

She held it up closer to her face. This heart was certainly a medical oddity. It continued to beat despite the fact that it had no support from the body, and lacked blood to pump through its ventricles. Perhaps a heart specialist at the Kingston hospital would be interested in studying this amazing organ.

That was clearly an understatement. What doctor in his or her right mind _wouldn't _be awestruck by this heart?

Ed couldn't wait any longer. "Come on, Elaine, talk to me! What are you thinking right now?"

She sighed and looked up at him from where she sat on the floor. "I'm debating whether or not I sho---"

BANG BANG BANG!

They jumped as the fist pounded on the door again, rattling its hinges. Elaine used her free hand to push herself onto her feet and stepped closer to Ed.

"What do we do now?"

"Don't worry," Ed whispered. "Maybe if we stay quiet, they'll just go away and leave us alone."

It sounded like a great idea; too bad it didn't work.

"Mr. Harrison, it's Doc. Open up!"

"Okay, maybe not," Ed muttered. He turned to Elaine, who now wore a panicked expression, and offered her an apologetic shrug.

"Hold on, Doc, I'll be right there!" He yelled.

Elaine's eyes widened to the size of ping-pong balls. "Ed," she hissed, "what the hell are you doing?!"

"I have to let him in! He knows I'm in here!"

"But you can't let him in while I'm still holding _this_!" She held up the pulsing heart and nearly thrust it into his horrified face. "If he sees this, he's going to think he's interrupted a reenactment of The Silence of the Lambs!"

He grimaced at the sight of the thumping organ and pushed it away in disgust. "Get that thing away from me! Just . . ." He grabbed the jar off the table and thrust it into her left hand. "For right now, just put it back in there. I'll go distract Doc."

"Alright." Elaine struggled to set the heavy jar of salt water onto the floor while still keeping a firm grip on the heart.

Meanwhile, Ed made every effort to prevent Doc from barging into the room.

"Hey, Doc, what're you doing up?"

"Well," Doc explained as he stood in the hallway, "I was reading when I suddenly heard two people yelling, and it sounded like it was coming from your room. I just wanted to know if you were alright."

"Oh yeah, I'm perfectly fine. There's absolutely nothing to worry about." Ed, impressed by the diversion's effectiveness, smiled and winked at Elaine. She just rolled her eyes and went back to stuffing the heart into the jar.

"There's also something else I need to discuss with you," Doc said.

Elaine stopped and cast a panic-stricken look at Ed, who turned pale when he realized the ploy had failed.

"Oh, there is?" Ed asked. "I don't want to be rude, but can't it wait until tomorrow? I mean, you're the one who always said we should be fully rested before we go on a long expedition like this one."

He glanced back at Elaine and crossed his fingers, hoping that maybe the distraction would work.

"I know, I know," Doc replied. "But we'll be too busy tomorrow to talk about this, so it has to be tonight."

_Damn_, Ed thought.

The situation was even worse for Elaine. It turned out that the heart's small size had only been temporary. The barnacles encased the organ for so long that it folded in on itself. Now free of its barnacle shell, though, the heart expanded to its original size.

This presented her with a huge dilemma.

"Ed!" she hissed. "It won't go in!"

Ed turned to face her. "What?!"

"It won't go in! Look!" She tried to cram the beating mass into the jar, but about halfway in, it refused to budge. "What do I do now?!"

"Mr. Harrison? Are you still there?"

Ed kept staring at Elaine as he responded to Doc's question. "Yessir, I'm still here." He tiptoed away from the door and crept up beside her. She tried to hand him the heart, but he shook his head and waved it away, desiring no direct interaction with it. Instead, he grabbed the hammer he left on the card table and handed it to her. "Try that."

Before she could protest, Ed sneaked back to the door. "Um, sir, don't you want to discuss it with the rest of the team? I'm sure they'd love to hear about it as well."

Elaine bit her lip, muttered a silent prayer for success as she raised the hammer, and let it fall. She feared the process would mash the heart into a bloody pulp, but she soon found out there was no need to worry. With one swing, the hammer struck with enough force to drive the heart intact through the mouth of the jar. As the heart sank to the bottom of the container, salt water trickled out and formed a large puddle on Ed's nice clean floor. In spite of the mess she created, Elaine dropped the hammer on the floor, grinned, and waved her arms around in a sort of victory dance.

Doc let out an irritated growl. "Mr. Harrison, I want to talk to _you_. I found something just now that I thought might interest you, and you alone."

"That's great!" Ed said. "Let me just get some clothes on."

This odd remarked shocked Doc, who had no idea what Ed was doing.

Neither did Elaine. "Ed, what the crap are you talking about?! You already have clothes on!"

"I'm trying to give you enough time to take the heart and get out of here so you can hide it in your room," Ed snarled through gritted teeth.

Elaine screwed the lid onto the jar and picked it up, holding it tight against her chest. "And how exactly am I going to do that?"

"By going out the window."

A white wooden balcony lay just beyond the shutters on the second floor of the Galleon Inn. The proper way to access it was to go through the sliding glass doors in the Grande Suite, but Doc resided there, so that strategy wasn't even considered. She couldn't leave through Ed's room door, as Doc stood right outside it. The one option open to her was to slip out the window onto the balcony and hurry back to her room as best she could.

The balcony usually provided visitors with a lovely view of the ocean; now it was being employed as an escape route.

"Dare I ask why you're not wearing clothes, Mr. Harrison?" Doc asked.

"Well, it's a little hot in here, and wearing clothes doesn't help much," Ed said. While he waited for Doc to respond, he unlocked the shutters and pushed them wide open. "Okay, Elaine, let's get you out first."

She stood still, reluctant to go; the mere thought of being shoved through a window like a letter through a mail slot didn't appeal to her at all.

A loud rattling sound nearly made them scream. Doc was jiggling the doorknob, determined to enter Ed's room.

"I'll hold the jar while you climb through the window. Once you're out, I'll hand it back to you. Come on, Elaine, hurry up!"

She quickly ran over to Ed and dumped the jar into his arms.

"Good grief, it's heavy!" he said as he struggled to hold it. "How the hell do you carry this thing?"

"Very carefully," she said. "Just don't drop it, alright?"

Before he could respond, Elaine stuck her head out the window and looked around. _Good; there's no one out here._

Luckily for her, the raging storm had somehow vanished swiftly into the night, leaving behind a calm ocean that mirrored the sparkling moon and stars above. It was as if the rain had polished the heavens.

"Okay, Elaine, enough stargazing! Get your ass out of here!"

"Alright, Ed! Geez!"

Ed didn't have time for her to dawdle. Five minutes had passed since she stuck her head out the window, and it looked like she would take even longer to slip the rest of her body through. Even worse, Doc was banging his fist on the door so aggressively that Ed feared he would punch a hole right through it.

Now was the time for desperate action.

"I hate to do this, Elaine, but . . ." Ed set down the jar, grabbed her feet, and shoved her out onto the balcony, cringing as she crashed loudly into an unsuspecting bench.

"What was that?" Doc yelled.

"Um . . . That was me; I accidentally knocked my table over. The stupid thing always gets in the way," Ed laughed, and he dragged the card table across the floor trying to sound like he was setting it back up. He waited for a few moments, but Doc said nothing. Taking this as a sign that Doc was convinced, Ed picked up the jar and rushed back to the window to check on Elaine.

She glared at him from where she lay on the balcony deck, surrounded by the splintered remains of the wooden bench. "What the hell was that for?!"

"Consider that as payback for punching me. Now get up so you can take your jar and go." Ed leaned out the window with the jar in his arms.

Elaine considered letting him stand there with the weighty jar while she lay on the balcony doing nothing, but she decided against it. Ed already had enough trouble stalling for time so she could escape with the heart; her refusal to stand up would add an unnecessary worry to his situation.

She stared eye to eye with him and started crawling to the window. "How come I have to hide the heart? Why don't you hold on to it for a while?"

"Hey, 'finders keepers', remember? And besides, I won't be able to sleep with the sound of that thing beating all night long. It's just too eerie!"

"And you don't think I feel the same way?!" Elaine snapped. "You know, Ed, we wouldn't have to do all this if you weren't so squeamish."

"Who's squeamish?" Doc figured out a minute earlier that the door was unlocked, so he let himself in unannounced. Now he stood a few feet away from the window wearing a red bathrobe and a puzzled expression.

Ed looked behind him and jumped when he spotted Doc. His grip on the jar loosened during his brief moment of shock and it thumped to the floor of the balcony. Elaine grabbed the container before it could roll away and looked it over. Fortunately, the jar sustained no damage, but she grew increasingly concerned about the heart.

For some inexplicable reason, the heart now pulsed more rapidly than before. Bubbles clustered and burst near the top of the jar as it pumped the salt water through its chambers. The heart also beat with a much louder volume; she could feel the jar vibrating in her hands every time it pulsed.

"Don't just stand there like a damn idiot, Mr. Harrison; answer my question!"

_THOOM-THUMP._

_THOOM-THUMP._

_THOOM-THUMP._

_What do I do now?_


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry about the wait, everyone! Here are a few wonderful people I need to thank:

the-american-hockey-girl: Thanks for your review! I'm not giving anything away; you'll just have to wait and see what happens. :) I'll update soon!

Dutchman Girl: Thanks for reviewing! I'm happy that you're eager to know what's going to happen next:) I'll update soon!

bubblymuggle: Thanks for your review! I'm glad you liked the last chapter; Ed can be pretty funny at times. :b I'll update as soon as I can!

RedWing777: Thanks for adding A Lesser Evil to your Story Alert!

spongedork789: Thanks for reviewing! Listening to music helps me with my Writer's Block.

Rory4: Thanks for adding A Lesser Evil to your list of Favorite Stories!

PippinBaggins: Thanks for your review! I'm glad you asked; you'll find out the answer in the next chapter or so. :)

I also want to thank my non-reviewing readers out there. Thank you! (waves) Anyway, please tell your friends about this story and, as always, feel free to write a review after reading this chapter.

Now, on to Chapter Six!

* * *

Chapter Six: The Book and Close Calls

"Well?"

Ed swallowed. "Sorry, sir. I was talking to Elaine on my cell phone and it was set on speaker."

"It sounds like she's still mad at you," Doc said. "I thought I caught a hint of resentment in her voice. I had hoped the two of you would come to some sort of reconciliation after what happened earlier tonight. Once again, I am disappointed, Mr. Harrison."

Ed furrowed his brow and stared down at the newspapers scattered beneath his feet. This reaction satisfied Doc's infuriating habit of talking down to his coworkers. Feigning guilt was the only tactic that could be successfully used to end his demeaning lectures. The team, who had years of experience working with him, knew how to utlize this strategy. One member, however, did not: Elaine.

"Why are there wet newspapers all over the floor?" Doc asked as he poked at a soaked comic strip with the toe of his red bedroom slipper.

Ed looked up and casually scratched the back of his head. "Oh, I dropped my water bottle when I ran into the table. I'm just using the newspapers to soak up the water I spilled."

Doc raised an eyebrow at him. "I see. I never would have expected such cleverness from you, Mr. Harrison, considering who you are."

Ed's cheeks flushed an angry red as he clenched his fists. Even after years of hard work and copious amounts of flattery, Doc still showed no respect for him. Gritting his teeth, he asked, "Why did you want to see me, sir? I'm pretty sure you didn't come just to insult me."

"I'm glad you said that; I almost forgot! I'm here because there's something I want to show you." Doc reached inside his bathrobe to pull out what he wanted to present. "It's the . . . Oh, damn! I left it in my room with my reading glasses. I'll be right back." He turned and marched out the door.

Ed peeked into the hallway to make sure Doc was in his room before he left to check on Elaine. Assured that he wouldn't come back right away, Ed walked back to the window. "Hey, Elaine?" he whispered as he poked his head outside. "Are you the---Why are you still here?!"

Elaine sat under the windowsill holding the jar close to her. "I haven't had a chance to leave yet!" she said, scowling at him. "If I left while Doc was still in there, he'd hear me for sure! And why are you letting him bully you around like that? You don't deserve all that bullcrap! I'd beat him, if I were you."

"Believe me, he's earned a punishment far worse than that," Ed said. "But thanks anyway."

Elaine smiled.

"Alright," he said, taking a quick glance behind him. "When Doc comes back in, I'm going to close the shutters. That ought to help muffle the noise so he won't suspect that anything weird's going on. Got it?"

She nodded.

"Good luck," Ed mouthed and pulled the shutters until they were closed up tight. Relieved that the heart would finally be out of his sight and hearing range, he sighed and turned around.

He almost let out a scream.

Doc had returned once again without any warning whatsoever. He carried a leather-bound book in the crook of his arm while a small pair of reading glasses perched on the top of his head.

"What on earth are you doing?" Doc asked and waved his free hand at the shutters. "Open those up again; it's too hot to keep them closed."

"But I don't want to let the mosquitoes in, sir," Ed responded, hoping Doc would find this excuse reasonable. He needed to give Elaine enough time to run away.

"Oh pooh, I don't care about them. You can kill the mosquitoes, but you can't kill the heat." Doc waited for Ed to open the shutters, but he made no move towards the window. "Fine then, you idiot," Doc grumbled, "Do I have to do everything myself?"

By this time, Elaine had begun her trek along the balcony to her room window. After crawling three feet away, she overheard Doc yelling for Ed to open the shutters. Realizing that the beating heart in the jar made her easy to spot, she scuttled back under Ed's windowsill and tried to hide herself. No sooner had she pulled the jar beside her than the shutters flung wide open. She cringed and scrunched her eyes shut.

"Ah, much better," Doc sighed as he breathed in the humid Jamaican air. "Now, then. Here is what I wanted to show you." He turned back around and placed the volume in Ed's hands.

Ed forgot all about Elaine the moment he laid eyes on the book. Time and moisture had rotted away parts of the calfskin leather covering, but what remained of it felt slick and smooth to the touch. The tattered remains of four leather straps, once used to bind the front and back covers together, drooped loosely on the book's sides.

He gingerly pried open the front cover, revealing the first of over two hundred yellowed pages. Faded writing lay hidden among the page's wrinkles and discoloration. He attempted to smooth out the page with hesitant fingers, but he still could barely make out most of the words.

Then, he spotted what looked like a date written in the top right-hand corner of the page.

"'1715'," he read. "Doc, this was written in 1715! Where did you find it?"

Doc smiled and chuckled at Ed's excitement. "I found it quite by accident, actually. After we got back from The Landlubber's Wharf, I thought I would go to bed early so I'd feel rested and relaxed for tomorrow morning. I didn't notice, as I walked towards the bed, that one of my socks had managed to slip out of the laundry basket. I wasn't aware of it until I stepped on it. I soon found myself sliding around on the floor like a drunk figure skater.

I tried to keep myself from falling flat on my face by throwing myself towards the wall. My shoulder took the brunt of the impact, but I didn't expect it to crash right through the wood. Just as I pulled my shoulder out and started brushing the dust and splinters off my bathrobe, I spotted something lying on one of the boards. I picked it up and dusted it off, trying to figure out what it could be, but then I noticed the aged pages poking out and realized it was a book. I started reading it and . . . Well, you know the rest."

Ed stood in awed silence for a moment. "That's incredible," he said, not once taking his eyes off the book.

"Yes, it is," Doc agreed. "People always say we seek out history's little secrets, but this isn't true at all. History reveals its secrets to us only when they want to be found." Elaine found this thought highly intriguing and mulled it over in her mind. Sadly, Doc chose this exact moment in her meditation to come back to the window and lean out of it, stretching his back. She flattened herself against the wall, watching nervously as his fingers dangled dangerously close to her nose.

"You notice anything else about that book, Mr. Harrison?" he asked.

"No, not really . . . Wait a minute," Ed said, squinting at the page. "I think I just made out the title! It's . . . no, it couldn't be! It's by---"

"It's The Memoirs of Lord Cutler Beckett, Loyal Director of the East India Trading Company, his autobiography, so to speak. I haven't quite finished reading it just yet, but from what I've read so far, I can tell Beckett held a rather high opinion of himself."

"I guess he wanted to stand out, considering that he was a leader of one of the most obscure branches of the Honourable East India Company." Ed sat down on his bed and continued to stare at the title page of the book.

"Possibly," Doc said. "He saw himself as the vanquisher of evil forces on the high seas, said evil forces being pirates. However, it seems he also had a wild imaginative side to his personality he kept hidden from everyone."

Ed looked up. "Seriously?"

"Oh yes." Doc turned back to face Ed. "About halfway through the book, he discussed how he hoped to encounter a ghost ship's crew entirely comprised of 'men who are of the sea'. He particularly wanted to meet their captain, who claimed he was the sea itself. I had to stop when I heard you yelling, so I never found out why he wanted to see them. But by then, I had already created a theory about Beckett."

"What is it?"

"Bearing in mind that he fantasized about mythological creatures such as fish people and actually believed they existed, I think Beckett was a drug addict of some sort. Opium was probably the culprit, I imagine."

Doc drummed his fingers along the edge of the windowsill throughout the length of his speculation. Under normal circumstances, Elaine would be listening attentively and asking all kinds of questions. This tense situation, though, could hardly be considered normal. She kept a close eye on where his fingers landed on the windowsill instead of paying attention to Doc's theory. Rather than inquiring about where he found support for his idea, she questioned whether or not he was deaf, since he appeared not to hear the heart beating beneath him. There was no denying it; she was stuck.

Back in the room, Ed shook his head in astonishment. "This is simply amazing, sir. But there's one question you haven't answered yet: Why are you showing this only to me? Why not share this with everyone else, too?"

Doc left the window and sat down next to him. "One of your ancestors is mentioned in that book, Mr. Harrison. Beckett wrote about his various dealings with him. I assumed that this was a family matter and decided I to let you have the book after I finished it. Is that alright with you?"

Ed nodded his consent. "Thank you, sir."

"Oh, it's no trouble, Mr. Harrison. Now," Doc said as he stood up, "is there something you wish to tell me?"

Ed raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, sir?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Mr. Harrison. What were you up to before I came in?"

Ed gulped. _Oh God, he saw the heart!_ "I already told you, sir. I was talking to Elaine on my phone while I was putting my clothes on. Shortly before you came in, I ran into the table and knocked my bottled water over. That's what happened."

"Really? I could've sworn I heard someone else physically in the room talking to you."

Ed shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you, sir. There was no one else in here but me."

Doc gave him a look that clearly stated he was unconvinced and began to walk about the room, examining it for any clues that would disprove Ed's claims. After taking two steps, something crunched beneath his slipper.

"Well, what have we here?" Doc said as he bent down to pick up the tiny gray object. He held it up and studied it for a minute. "My friend, you didn't mention you had a barnacle infestation."

Ed resisted the urge to cringe. Sure enough, the object was indeed a piece of the barnacle shell that surrounded the heart.

"Explain this to me, Mr. Harrison. How did barnacles end up in yo---"

Doc spotted a wet footprint on the floor beside him. Then he found another, and another, all of them leading right up to the window.

Ed grew pale. Elaine must have unknowingly stepped into the salt water before she made her escape onto the balcony.

Ed tried to stop Doc from reaching the window, but the team leader shoved him to the floor, leaving him to cower in the soaked newspapers. Doc leaned out and searched the whole balcony for the run-away woman. Ed's stomach tightened into a knot; he feared what Doc would do to Elaine if he found her.

Doc slammed the shutters closed. "Where is she?!" he snapped. He stomped across the floor, ignoring Ed altogether, and stormed out of the room.

Ed clambered to his feet, sped to the window, and threw the shutters open again. He took a brief glance around the balcony, but saw nothing unusual. Before he ran off after Doc, he decided to take a quick peek under the windowsill.

Elaine was gone.


	7. Chapter 7

WOW! So many reviews! I love you all:)

PirateAngel1286: Thank you for adding A Lesser Evil to your Story Alert list!

PirateKnightoftheRings: Thanks for your review and for adding my story to your Story Alert list! I'm so happy you love the story so far. I can't tell you who Ed's ancestor is; you'll find out later on, I promise. :)

Dutchman Girl: Thanks for reviewing! I'll update as soon as I can!

the-american-hockey-girl: Thanks for reviewing! I'm so happy now; it feels good to know that I'm inspiring others. Thank you, I'm touched:) I'll update soon!

TavyBeckettFan: Thank you for your wonderful reviews and for adding my story to your Story Alert list!

K.D. Sparrow: Thank you for reviewing and for adding A Lesser Evil to your Story Alert list! I will update soon!

PippinBaggins: Thanks for your review! I'm happy you're so excited., and I can't tell you who Ed's ancestor is. You'll find out later:)

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I hope I didn't forget anyone; if I did, I'll just say thank you right now. Thank you! (grins and waves) Also, I want to take a moment to thank my non-reviewing readers. Thanks, everyone:)

Okay, here's what's going on. I got back to college yesterday (sob), and classes start tomorrow. Sadly, this means I won't be able to update as I often as I have been. :( I will aim at updating once a week over the weekend when I have time to write. If I don't do an update, that means I got too busy with schoolwork and couldn't post a chapter. If that happens, please don't assume that I've given up on the fanfic and all you wonderful readers, because I will never do that! Ever:)

As always, if you'd like to leave a review, please do:)

Now, on to Chapter Seven!

* * *

Chapter Seven: Climbing In and A Captain's Return

"Is there something you wish to tell me?"

_There goes Doc into another rant; I knew he wouldn't disappoint me!_

Elaine waited for Doc to fly deep into his tirade before attempting to escape. She peered down the long stretch of balcony, determining the best way to reach her window. Standing up and running was clearly not an option; Doc would see and hear her as she made her getaway. Crawling was required once again.

With one arm to steady herself and the other wrapped tightly around the jar, she quickly crept along the balcony towards her room window. She scuttled sideways under each windowsill like a crab, glancing behind her every few moments to make sure no one had opened their shutters and spotted her. She laughed silently to herself; the team slept completely unaware that one of its members was sneaking around in the night.

A couple of long minutes later, Elaine finally reached her window.

"Of course mine had to be the very last one!" she grumbled. "Now I just need to . . . Oh crap."

Elaine found herself confronting a new problem: getting into her room. She fastened the shutters before she went to Ed's room, not knowing she would reenter her room through them. A sliver of yellow light left a glowing line on the balcony floor, teasing Elaine for her inability to enjoy the comforts of her warm, cozy room. She set the jar down and pushed herself up, wincing when her knees reminded her how much they hated crawling on hardwood floors. As she rubbed her sore kneecaps, she tried to come up with a solution to her awkward plight. How was she going to get in?

_How do I get myself into these situations?_

She looked up at the beam of light shining through the shutters and sighed. Fate enjoys placing humanity into embarrassing situations, and it had once more conspired against Elaine for its own pleasure.

Or had it?

Elaine peered at the crack between the shutters, and an idea sprang into her head. She shoved her hand into her pajama pants pocket and yanked out her room key.

_It may not be brilliant, but it just might work!_

She leaned forward and attempted to slip the key through the slit in the shutters. "Please let this work," she whispered, biting her lip in anticipation.

Her fingers trembled as she slid the tiny key into the crack. She sighed in relief; at least that part of the challenge was over. Now she needed to find the clasp holding the shutters together.

She slowly guided the key upwards, waiting for the clasp to stall its progress. About halfway up, the key refused to budge. She pushed harder, the clasp squeaking as the key forced it to unhook itself. A loud rattle and the key's sudden jerk up the slit indicated that the shutters were unlocked. Elaine could now climb into her room.

She pushed the shutters open and gave a quick glance around the room. The large pile of shoes, underwear, and shirts she left behind when she went to The Landlubber's Wharf remained in a gigantic mound on the floor. Other than that particular mess, everything else appeared to be clean and in order.

She picked up the jar, the heart inside it now beating at a much more relaxed pace, and set it gently on the bed right next to the window. Once she felt comfortable that the jar wouldn't tip over and roll off the blanket, she hoisted herself through the window and closed the shutters.

Elaine flopped back on the bed and yawned. The evening's events left her incredibly exhausted; all she wanted to do was go to sleep and dream about what the team would find tomorrow on the shipwreck. She curled up next to her pillow and settled in for the night, her eyelids drooping as her mind wandered off into her dre---

BANG BANG BANG!

Elaine was so startled by the sudden fanfare of knocking that she fell out of her bed and crashed facedown on the floor. She lay there for a second or two, thinking of all the tortures she could apply to Ed for ruining her night.

"Who is it?" she grumbled as she wiped dust off her tank top.

"Miss Thompson, it's Doc! Open up!"

She froze in shock. _Oh crap, it's not Ed!_

She looked behind her and spotted the jar, nestled in the blanket, with the heart still pumping peacefully inside it.

Nervous sweat beaded on her forehead. She needed to hide the heart before Doc came in. But where to put it?

Desperate for a solution, she hopped over to the open suitcase lying empty on the floor and dragged it over to the bed. She snatched up the jar and carefully placed it inside the suitcase. Her plan was to hide the suitcase in her closet, but when she zipped it up, she could still hear the heart beating loudly within it. She put her panic to good use by running over to the pile of clothes on the floor and tossing as many items as she could into the suitcase. Two minutes later, the mountain of clothing had disappeared into the suitcase. When she zipped it shut, she was pleased to find that the clothes muffled the sound of the heart beating.

"Miss Thompson, I've already dealt with this ridiculous waiting game once already! I'm not going to play this game again!"

"I'll be right there in a sec, sir!" Elaine rolled the suitcase to her closet, opened its doors, and shoved it inside. She took a deep relaxing breath as she closed the closet doors, relieved that it was safely hidden away.

For now.

"Alright, Miss Thompson, that does it! I'm counting to three, then I'm breaking down the door! One . . ."

Elaine pulled the blue elastic band out of her hair and ruffled it up with her fingers to make it look like she just climbed out of bed.

"Two . . ."

She walked towards the door and turned the knob.

"Three!"

The door swung wide open.

Doc, prepared to thrust his shoulder into the door, almost lost his balance and barely caught himself. He coughed and straightened up his red bathrobe while he stared at Elaine. Her hair was a frizzy mess full of knots and tangles, and the dark circles under her eyes hinted at her lack of sleep.

"Yes, Doc?"

He cleared his throat. "What were you doing in Mr. Harrison's room?"

She frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Doc glared at her angrily. "Don't you dare give me that look, Miss Thompson. What were you doing in Mr. Harrison's room?"

"Nothing sexual, if that's what you're worried about."

Doc took a step towards her. "I'm not here for your attitude. I just want to know what you were doing in---"

"Alright, fine! I'll tell you!" Elaine flipped her hair back and looked him straight in the eye. "Ed wanted to talk to me about what happened in the restaurant, and we took a long walk on the beach so we cou--"

Ed had come out of his room, massaging his shoulder and watching her with a nervous glint in his eyes.

"You walked out on the beach in the storm?!" Doc asked. "What were you thinking?!"

"It was Ed's idea, not mine," she said. "But anyway, the walk didn't do much good because we got into another argument. I was pretty much sick of the whole thing, so I turned around and headed back towards the restaurant. That's when a wave hit me and knocked me out."

Doc gasped. "Oh God!"

"I know, it scared me, too." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm just glad Ed was there to make sure I was alright. He brought me back to his room so he could check to see if I had any serious injuries like broken bones and such." Elaine looked over Doc's shoulder to give Ed a wink and a smile.

Doc nodded. "Oh I see," he said. "But if that was the case, then why did Ed try to hide you?"

"Oh, that was my idea," she said. "I wasn't sure what you'd think if you found us in the room alone. We didn't want to give you the wrong idea of what was going on."

Ed smiled at her and walked back into his room.

"Well, I'm glad you're okay," Doc said and patted her on the shoulder. "Sleep well. I'll see you tomorrow morning!" He turned and strode down the hall to his suite.

Elaine closed the door and leaned against it as she stared up at the ceiling. She had pulled off the lie without any complications. Ed's appearance in the hallway surprised her, but his positive reaction erased every concern.

Everything except her anxiety over how she would survive jogging with Margaret the next morning.

* * *

Nighttime in the depths of the Caribbean marked the end of another day for many marine animals. Crabs and shrimp scattered across the ocean floor to seek out the protective shelter of rocks or coral. Most of the fish followed suit, hoping to find an unoccupied crevice where they could spend the night. For these creatures, darkness did not bring the welcome embrace of sleep. Instead, it brought something far less comforting:

Sharks.

The arrival of these sleek and cunning predators wrought widespread panic on their victims. Any fish or crustacean stranded in the sand were considered easy prey. On the rare occasion that no food could be found out in the open, the sharks had no choice but to stalk the coral reefs. They knew they would find a feast here; every potential prey item tried to hide amongst the coral and rock formations to avoid being ripped to shreds.

This posed no problem for the sharks.

They swam above the coral and wound their way through the rocks, waiting for one fish to panic and give away its hiding place. This fish never lasted more than a few seconds outside its shelter before finding itself within razor-sharp jaws. The sharks sometimes grew so excited at the sharp scent of blood that they would take their agitation out on each other, often leading to fatal results.

A tiger shark lurked along the sea floor hoping to drive a crab out of the sand. One small reddish-brown crab made the mistake of crawling out too early, and the shark spotted it. The crab realized its blunder and rapidly scuttled across the sea floor towards a large rocky outcrop. Over six feet long and enveloped in various species of coral, this rock was the perfect place for it to take cover.

The shark gave swift chase, but the crab had already crawled beneath the rock by the time its hunter arrived. But this shark was not about to give up so easily; it could smell meat all over this rock, and it refused to leave until it had at least one bite. It hovered around the rock trying to find out where the tastiest morsel lay. Unable to decide, it took a random bite.

A giant crab claw suddenly snapped out of the rock and clamped its bluish pincers around the shark's neck. The shark writhed in pain, but this only allowed the claws to tear deeper into its flesh, releasing spurts of dark blood into the water. The scent of blood summoned other sharks to the scene, and they glided through the water towards their prospective meal.

The trapped predator had become prey to its own kind. The shark's instinct to survive motivated it to make a final effort to escape from the claw's grip. It gave one last fierce shake of its head and freed itself, but the other sharks overwhelmed its attempt to escape and sank their jagged teeth into its fins and gills.

They were too busy gorging themselves to notice the life stirring behind them. The claw grabbed part of its rocky prison and started to pull. A crab-like arm emerged; then the rest of the torso appeared, clothed in a black leather coat and a stained white shirt. A black leather hat sank to the sand, but the claw picked it up out of the sharks' reach.

A pair of blue-grey eyes opened in the midst of a pale face, breathing through a siphon instead of a nose. Tentacles took the place of a beard, each one coiling and unfurling at will. A smile appeared, revealing yellowed teeth and a wicked spirit that no longer lay dormant on the ocean bed.

Davy Jones had awoken.


End file.
